Old faces in new places: Latest slate of CFL head coaches face big challenges

Hiring head coaches in the CFL is a lot like rolling dice: Sometimes you win, sometimes you come up with Dan Hawkins. Actually, it's more like reaching into a bag of snakes and hoping you don't get bitten -- or get Bart Andrus.

After a season of relative stability -- the ill-fated and ill-prepared Hawkins being the only head coaching change heading into the 2013 season -- there are four new head coaches to start the 2014 season. Only one of those, Montreal's Tom Higgins, has head coaching experience -- and that was seven years ago. The others are completely untested in the driver's seat.

Sometimes, hiring a guy who's never been a CFL head coach before works (i.e., Corey Chamblin, Marc Trestman, Scott Milanovich.) But more often, it's an unmitigated disaster (Hawkins, Bart Andrus, Mike Kelly, Greg Marshall.)

Here's a look at the newbies:

Rick Campbell, Ottawa RedBlacks: The franchise's inaugural head coach certainly has an impressive pedigree. First, he basically grew up on the CFL sidelines and probably picked up a few pointers from his dad, the legendary Hugh Campbell. Secondly, his resume includes 15 seasons on CFL sidelines, including two stints as defensive co-ordinator and one as assistant head coach. He picked up a couple of Grey Cup rings along the way.

His last stop in Calgary saw his defence rank first in sacks and second in fewest points allowed.

But a great resume as a co-ordinator and assistant doesn't always translate into success as a head coach. Still, Campbell has the luxury of an experienced quarterback in Henry Burris and the normal low expectations that accompany an expansion team.

The RedBlacks didn't look like an expansion team in the pre-season and as long as the team avoids imploding -- or loses Burris to injury -- his first season could be a success.

Tom Higgins, Montreal Alouettes: Last season, the Als shocked the league by hiring Hawkins, a guy who had never coached at the pro level and may not have been able to find Saskatchewan on a map. This year, they again shocked the league by reaching into the past and hiring Higgins, who has a wealth of experience but hadn't coached since 2007. This wasn't a choice from left field; this came from the 15th row of the left-field stands.

The shocks continued when Higgins, who reportedly was hired against the wishes of GM Jim Popp, interrupted training camp to sack his hand-picked offensive co-ordinator, Rick Worman.

Higgins will certainly face challenges. In addition to turning over the offence to inexperienced Ryan Dinwiddie, the two-time CFL coach of the year is fielding an aging lineup and won't be able to turn to security blanket Anthony Calvillo when the going gets rough. Throw in an unproven quarterback in Troy Smith and the other issues surrounding a team that went 8-10 last year and Higgins might be wishing he'd stayed as CFL officiating director.

Still, Higgins has won in the past and if Smith can overcome the scatter-arm tendencies he showed in the pre-season, he might have a long stay in Montreal. But the early signs aren't promising.

Chris Jones, Edmonton Eskimos: In 12 years as a defensive coach in the CFL, Jones has never missed the playoffs. Well, there's a first time for everything and transforming a 4-14 team into a contender will be his toughest assignment yet.

The Esks brought in Jones for his defensive pedigree and the hope he promises to be a little tougher than Kavis Reed was on his often undisciplined troops. His three Grey Cup rings didn't hurt, either.

Jones has rebuilt the team, in particular its porous defence in order to institute his trademark aggressive, multiple-set approach to stopping opponents. He also changed the popgun offence, putting a premium on protecting quarterback Mike Reilly. That's why veteran running back Hugh Charles became an ex-Eskimo in training camp.

Jones has said that the Eskimos could easily have been 8-8 last year, though teams that lose close games are often just as bad as ones that get blown out regularly.

Mike O'Shea, Winnipeg Blue Bombers: On one hand, the rookie head coach and former perennial all-star linebacker will almost surely improve on last year's embarrassing 3-15 record. On the other, he'll have to make a heck of an improvement if he hopes to get the Bombers in the playoffs now that they're rightfully back in the West Division.

After all, this is a team that went from Swaggerville to Staggerville in record time.

O'Shea's coaching resume is almost as impressive as his playing one. As special teams co-ordinator in Toronto, he showed an ability to inspire players to perform at their maximum and showed a flair for inventiveness.

But, as many will attest, making a jump from co-ordinator to head coach is a big one and it will be interesting to see if O'Shea can handle some of the adversity that's sure to arise. Will he panic when unproven quarterback Drew Willy falters? Will he expect his defence to play the way he did and start making cuts when they don't?

The Bombers still have a lot of holes to fill and having three inexperienced quarterbacks is seldom a recipe for success. This would be a major test for Don Matthews. It will be monumental for a rookie like O'Shea.